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"Late Fall Patterns and Hot Spots on Lake St. Clair"
Artificial Lure here, bringing you today’s fishing report for Sunday, November 16, 2025, on and around Lake St. Clair, Michigan.
Sunrise creeped over the horizon at 7:20 a.m. this morning, with sunset set for 5:09 p.m., giving anglers a solid window to hit the water. Winds are light out of the southwest at 7 to 11 knots, with temps hovering around 42°F, and the lake’s water temp reported near 47°F according to NOAA’s recent buoy readouts. The long-range forecast is calling for a mostly cloudy day with minimal chance of rain—classic late fall weather on St. Clair.
Fall patterns are locked in—fish are schooling up, and the bite window is tight but productive. According to Michigan DNR reports from earlier this month, yellow perch numbers have been on the rise, especially on the eastern and southern shores of the lake. Anglers have also been reporting good catches of smallmouth bass, with some muskie hanging in those deeper breaks near the river mouths. Outdoor News notes yellow perch success has improved over the last week, while smallmouth remain consistent for those willing to grind through the colder temps.
The late fall perch bite, especially for “jumbo” size fish, has picked up around the Metropark and Harley Ensign access points—these spots are reliable this time of year. Reports from Captain Experiences charters also put walleye in the mix, with folks finding them along the shipping channel edges and near the mouth of the Detroit River.
For lures, this is the season where simplicity prevails:
- **Perch**: Small minnows or wax worms on perch rigs, either tight-lined or under slip bobbers, are outfishing artificials right now.
- **Smallmouth Bass**: The big players are Ned rigs, blade baits, and spybaits; Duo Realis Spinbait 80 or Strike King Chick Magnet in natural shad or craw colors have been deadly, particularly around mid-depth rock piles and weed edges. Mornings are best for a flat-sided crankbait or a suspending jerkbait worked slow and methodical, with strikes coming off current seams and near isolated structure.
- **Muskie**: Trollers are running big rubber baits and classic bucktails off 8- to 12-foot ledges—not as fast as October, but a few notable fish are still being boated near Anchor Bay.
- **Walleye**: Jigging bright-colored jigs tipped with minnows, or drifting crawler harnesses along the channel, remains the ticket.
Live bait continues to outperform by a nose, but artificial lures are close behind—especially on those days with a decent chop and a little color in the water. On breezy afternoons, spinnerbaits with a black or chartreuse profile are matching up well with the dying shad and young perch in the system, as covered in the Lake St. Clair Michigan Fishing Report podcast.
Hot spots to focus on today:
- **Metro Beach (Lake St. Clair Metropark)**: Classic for late-season perch piles, with bass and the occasional walleye nearby.
- **Belle River Hump**: Steep drop-offs are holding both muskie and smallmouth; plenty of bait pushed up from the shipping channel.
Boat launches are wide open with no lines this week, but if you’re on foot, don’t sleep on the piers around St. Clair Shores and Harley Ensign.
Keep your fingers nimble, layer up, and expect bursts of activity rather than all-day feeders. The key right now is persistence—and be ready when the school rolls through.
Thanks for tuning in to your Lake St. Clair fishing report. Remember to subscribe for daily updates from your local fishing community.
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Published on 1 month ago